The Shape Of The Dead
by AxlMaster
Summary: The Darkness destroyed the Golden Age. But something else rose while humanity huddled in caves: an empire. It has been centuries since those times, and Guardians continue the endless war if the aftermath of the House of Wolves. But when Hunter Reisen makes a discovery, everything will change, and sleeping beings will awaken. (Destiny-Warframe Shared Universe)
1. Chapter 1

Venus. It was a world that could never support life in its storms and toxic gases.

At least, not before the Traveler came.

The Traveler's arrival brought hope to the planet; cleansing the toxic gases and quieting the storms. Then it was open for humanity, whose arrival brought life here; grass and water aplenty. It became a garden world to the human race, the garden world. The endless green and thriving cities here earned the planet a name appropriate for such a crowning achievement of humanity's determination and boundless optimism: paradise. Nothing could topple this achievement.

At least, not until the Darkness came.

Its arrival brought the end of all things, for nothing survived the primal force of the Darkness's forces. Now one of the crown jewels of humanity's Golden age was overrun by alien hordes, and the ordered structures of the Vex. Life continues to thrive there to this day, but now in chaos. Sulfuric gases render it once again inhospitable to most life. But few would die from that before they were struck from the sky by the electrical storms high in the atmosphere.

Those that resided here now were not the rightful masters of the world. No, all that lived here were the dogs of the Darkness, and the maggots that scurried around in the dirt. For while humanity still lives in its truest and purest form under the Traveler's Light, there are other kinds of humans out here and beyond. Humans that have long since been distorted into unrecognizable filth by centuries of war. These humans would use old technology to survive, and take whatever they might from whomever they could to further themselves. Nothing was too depraved for them, no depths to which they would not sink.

Not even dealing with humanities own enemies.

High above the planet, where gravity had long since lost its effects and the only light could be found inside ships, there was a conversation underway. Two ships stared at each other, waiting for the other to make a mistake and be blasted into the cold embrace of space.

One belonged to the Fallen, of the formerly mighty House of Winter. A ramshackle assembly that nonetheless carried an impressive suite of cannons. For while the Fallen had been poor at seizing new territory, they could hold onto what they had.

The other ship was of the Grineer, the lost children of humanity. Their ship was more refined, yet clumsy in its own way. It had tough hulls with tougher guns, which were not known for their accuracy. The Grineer had little need for accuracy. They believed in quantity over quantity. Their ships were found to be unimpressive when by themselves, and unpleasant to look at.

Nobody found Grineer ships more revolting than the Fallen. After all, half the parts on that ship were originally theirs to begin with. It was a desecration, the fusion between their technology and the Grineer's, all being piloted by beings who should have been exterminated years ago.

Yet neither side was here for war...

It had been twelve hours since Reisen's arrival. Twelve long hours on the universe's dustbin. Waiting for a deal that by all rights should've happened several hours sooner. He'd been hunkered in a cave the whole time, expecting the Grineer and Fallen to land on this stretch of land, the Ember Caves. He was in the middle of the House of Winter's turf and he had seen jack this whole time. This didn't make sense to him.

"For a Hunter, you seem to not enjoy the wilds much."

The chirps of the voice inside Reisen's head reminded him that he was never truly alone.

"I'll enjoy the wilds when I actually start hunting, not making up shapes in the clouds."

"...I don't think there are many shapes in the-"

"I know," Reisen sighed. He tapped his wrist, raising the display of the territory on his HUD. No red dots to be seen in this entire area. He felt his eyes narrow. That there were no Fallen in this spot may be a good sign. Perhaps they had cleared out the neutral territory for the deal. He looked down the cave, out to the glorious outdoors filled with crisp, toxic air that would kill a human in seconds. Truly a place only for the strong to survive, or for the stupid to die. Those wide open plains called to him. The realms of possibility, the open turf filled with cover and sniper perches, the tracks for racing in a Sparrow at top speed, and lots of things to shoot.

"You know you can't go out there yet," Ginger said. Reisen rose from his gravel bed. If he felt the need to sleep he'd be very grouchy.

"I know," he replied.

"Zavala gave very clear instructions," Ginger said, with more urgency in her voice. Reisen picked up his sniper rifle, Patience and Time. It looked like old world tech but it kicked like the best of Golden Age weaponry. Nostalgia in its idealized form.

"So he did," he said.

"Are you even listening?"

"Yes."

Reisen moved up near the mouth of the cave. He was still covered in shadow, and had a clear view of the little valley where this deal was supposed to go down. It was dusty like most places on Venus, with little pools of toxic chemicals. But it was one of the few places where two ships could land and still have significant space between them. The little stretch of nowhere in the shade was situated so that he had a clear view of the whole thing. Through his scope he could make out every stretch of potential cover and sniper perch while remaining invisible himself. If everything went well this would be like shooting fish in a barrel. Disgusting fish, like giant talking Cuthol.

"So what did I just say?" Ginger growled.

Reisen lowered his scope. Now he felt like a fish.

"...That wizard came from the moon?"

"Reisen!"

"Ginger, its fine. I've got this."

"You don't know that."

"If I can handle half of what I've tackled, I can probably handle a little wet work. Tell me at what point in history Zavala managed to kill the Black Heart, or Crota, or stopped whatever the hell the House of Wolves was up to, and then we'll talk."

Reisen focused on his scope again over Ginger's objections. Unless his eyes were failing him, and that was quite literally scientifically impossible, there was no movement from his side of the valley all the way to the other side. A tap of a button switched the rifle to thermals, bathing the world in blues and greens. The toxic pools were bright red and left trails of heat. But besides those pools there was nothing except a few rodents, and torso-sized insects that lived off the thermal vents. Jack all.

So, that meant either the Fallen and Grineer had found a way to hide their common troops to hide from advanced weapon systems, or they hadn't shown up yet. Reisen was inclined to the latter.

Looking up proved equally fruitless. The ships would be too far outside the atmosphere to be visible even to him. It was a decent tactic; hold the initial meet up in space, away from the planet. The Fallen had set up their own anti-air batteries, and being out that far put the Grineer out of range. Plus they were both safely away from the Vex's firepower. Yet even those precautions couldn't have delayed this meeting that much. Maybe his target was nervous.

"Ginger, what's the name of this fellow again?"

A deep voice suddenly came in through the comms. "Guardian."

"Oh shit," Reisen muttered. It was a voice like the rumble of a ship engine. Zavala.

"Excuse me?"

"Zavala. Need an update?"

"Yes. Has the target been eliminated?"

"Nope."

"...Explain."

"Exactly what it sounds like. The deal hasn't started yet."

"But it was supposed to several hours ago."

"I hadn't noticed," Reisen replied. "Any word from other Guardians? Ship movements?"

"Negative. Our last report is from over twelve hours ago."

"Maybe they got skittish? Called it off? If there was a fight I'd know by now."

Reisen would kill to have a cloaking device on his ship for scouting situations like this. Maybe if he was lucky, everyone had been blown to smithereens and he could loot the wreckage. That'd be a worthwhile activity at least.

"That is very unlikely. The amount of communications we picked up makes this deal far too important for the Grineer to simply scuttle at the last moment. In fact this target is-" some static came in, smothering the last of the Vanguard's words. Reisen tapped the side of his head.

"Repeat? Didn't catch that last bit."

"Reisen, we're picking up-" more static. "-ming us. Stay on site, do not-." The static was deafening now. He cut the channel before it might actually make him deaf. Somebody on either side was jamming communications.

"We've lost him," Ginger said. "We're on our own for now."

"Come now Ginger, you must be used to it. You and me against the worlds."

"If I didn't know better I'd say you were happy about it."

"Maybe a little bit."

Reisen looked through his scope, no movement. At least not **through** the scope. The scope itself was shaking. He looked away from it, at the ground he stood on. Pebbles were shifting and vibrating. He could hear a soft rumble all around the cave. He looked out to the valley and saw other signs of that disturbance. The water in the pools, normally calm, were afflicted with waves. He saw dozens of rodents scurry along the ground before promptly vanishing down into their holes. Reisen decided to take a gamble.

He stepped forward until he was just barely outside the cave, where the only things obstructing his view were the gathering clouds of dust. To the north, his right, he could see the dilapidated buildings of old, covered in moss. Past the buildings, past the dust, and illuminated like a firefly through the thermal vision was the unmistakable shape of a Grineer ship; a series of metal spheres chopped and welded together along with a series of limb-like structures along its keel.

To the south, his left, there was nothing but the dusty brown skies of Venus over the arid deserts. From there he saw a Fallen vessel trundle along and over the wasteland. Its guns were retracted. Good. The meet and greet had already been done. All that was left was the trade between the two parties. The two ships were certainly approaching each other like they wanted to talk. Slow and steady, no sudden maneuvers, just a stare at each other.

"Reisen, there's something odd on that Fallen ship."

"Odd as in 'strange' or 'we're screwed' Ginger?"

"I'm not sure. Give me a minute to scan." The Ghost began chirping as it did its work, while the two ships approached the valley. Reisen reached into his pocket, and held tight was lay in there.

The Grineer shift turned a gentle starboard as it came close to the valley, while the Fallen turned to port. This sort of approach allowed the two parties a show of force; a gentle reminder that if the terms of the meeting were violated, violence would follow. It was odd to Reisen how the Grineer were even capable of negotiating. He had figured the Corpus would be making more deals with the Fallen, they certainly had the knack for business.

The Fallen and Grineer extended their respective landing gear. The roar of their engines sent dust scattering in all directions. The toxic pools were being emptied by the gusts, scattering the liquids all over the ground. Reisen's position was hit by the wave of dust, but it would not hinder his vision. No, nothing would keep him from a target. He would wait, and watch. The target would emerge soon, and he'd wait until everyone was out in the open.

Reisen pulled out the object in his pocket, a small metal rod with a red cap on its head. He set it down on the ground, and went prone next to it with his rifle at the ready.

The ships were already opening their ramps. Troops flooded out on both sides, weapons in hand. They lined up alongside the ramps. The Fallen had their standard entourage of Shanks, Dregs and Vandals arranged into two groups, one on each side of the ramp. The Dregs were double the number of Vandals, and took position in front of them and the Shanks. The Vandals and Shanks would provide covering fire for the Dregs, while the Dregs would keep the enemy from accurately shooting at the Vandals and Shanks by engaging in melee. A standard suite of Fallen troops.

Then, four Fallen Captains stepped from the ship's ramp. Two of each took up position behind their squads, blades in hands. To have this many Captains in this one spot meant that something very important was being traded today. They were not going to half-ass this.

To meet the Fallen troops, the Grineer had lined up their own forces. The Grineer's individual troops weren't at the level of Fallen. Unfortunately, they seemed to know this, and brought twice as many men to this engagement. A large company of Elite Lancers took what for Grineer would qualify as a formation. A few Gunmen were scattered throughout, carrying their Gorgon machine guns. Butchers and some Scorpions were placed in front of the Lancers, and Shielders were placed in front of both groups. No doubt quite a few Lancers carried Blunts for quick cover.

The standoff had begun. Aliens and mutants. Soon the faces of this deal would emerge.

"Reisen, I've completed my scan."

"Make it quick. This deal is happening."

"I've been unable to identify the source of strange energies on the Fallen ship. But I can tell you this; it's not Light. Well, not entirely. I'm not sure what it is."

"Useful," Reisen replied. "How intense is it? Are we talking a bomb? A generator?"

"No. Something much more powerful."

"Super."

The ramps were still open on both ships. The lights from the ramp of the Grineer ship fluctuated as figures emerged. Dozens of grunts carried large, black cases out to the meeting. The workers scurried out to the middle of the land between the ships, placing the cases in giant piles. That done the workers promptly ran back into their ship.

"That's odd." Ginger said. "Why don't the Fallen present any goods?"

"I'm guessing that whatever the Fallen have is worth all that stuff, and maybe even more."

"Oh. That can't be good, can it?"

That was how the more common dealings were done. Two sides lined up, presented their wares, and the commanders would emerge forth to negotiate and pick what they wanted for an eventually agreed upon price, or equal trade. Ideally both sides were left alive and everyone went home and happy. Things were usually not so ideal, especially when Grineer were concerned. The Fallen had desperation to justify their aggression, according to more sympathetic Guardians.

But the Grineer were mindless aggressors. They would kill anything that wasn't them, and even then they'd be inclined to shoot first. Maybe their aggression was due to a brain defect present in their entire species, maybe it was because of the Grineer Queen's reinforcing a hatred of all life. Who could really say?

But here, they had presented enough wares to fill Reisen's cargo bay and then some. For what? There was something they wanted desperately, enough to dump who knows what out there. The Grineer did not like to be denied what they wanted, and they solved such problems with gunfire.

So it was no surprise that the Fallen all looked nervous. Maybe the deal would go south and the Grineer would just kill them all. Maybe the deal would go well and they'd be killed anyway. He could feel the tension in the air.

Reisen almost wished there would be more open conflict between the two sides. They'd certainly do horrendous damage to each other, which would reduce the number of enemies the Tower had to fight. Then again it would reduce the number of targets for him to shoot.

And what was a Guardian without something to guard against?

Reisen found that question answered when he saw a Fallen step out of the ship. Taller than the rest, with a thick and heavy coat. On his head he wore a giant helmet with numerous spikes, and glowing yellow eyes. One of his right arms had been replaced with a cybernetic. His name was Vulkas, and Reisen was fighting the instinct to scoop off his head.

"Don't," Ginger warned. He relaxed his trigger finger. The proud Kell would not die, by his hand anyway. He couldn't speak for the Grineer or their commander.

Said Grineer commander stepped forth from their ship was clad in armor like boilers and ship hull pieces smashed together; a misshapen hunk of metal that nonetheless was tough to penetrate, even for Guardian weapons. A giant sword was strapped to his back, lined by teeth that reflected the light along its edge. This was Lieutenant Koi, if Reisen remembered that correctly.

The two strolled forth to meet. Captain and Lieutenant, staring at each other while their forces were prepped for a battle. One itchy trigger finger, one slip of the grip could ruin this entire operation, whatever it was. Reisen watched through his scope as the two leaders came to the two piles. Lieutenant Koi showed Vulkas a case of the standard Grineer Grakata. Then a case of Hinds. Then a case of Vulkars. More and more weapons were brought out and shown. On and on the display went, one case after the other.

"They're giving every Grineer gun we've every documented," Ginger said. "and more." Cases of arc traps were presented as well. And large chunks of minerals. Melee weapons aplenty, some of which actually looked intact. A crate of blunts were in there as well.

Then the Lieutenant reached for the largest, most heavy-looking case in there, so heavy he was putting real effort into pushing the case toward Vulkas, who looked content to just watch him struggle. Then the case was opened, revealing hundreds of metal rods lined by white lights. Vulkas pulled out one, inspected it, and then nodded. It was the genuine article. Ether. The Fallen's life-blood.

Without Ether, the Fallen as a species would die out. How the Grineer ever managed to grab a case the size of a truck, carrying hundreds of Ether rods was a mystery to Reisen.

But the bigger mystery was why his target hadn't arrived.

The Grineer Koi gave a little bow, only for Vulkas to point at him with a shout. Vulkas's garbled words were lost on Reisen. Koi raised his shoulders in a shrug, and Vulkas responded by growling some kind of curse, by Reisen's guessing. Curiously, Koi seemed to be apologetic, and waved to his troops at the ship to do something. A Lancer troop ran inside, and a few moments later several workers came out bearing bins filled with scrap metal. Very smooth and pitch black metal. Servitor scraps.

Koi gave another bow, and at this Vulkas also responded with a bow. Then the Kell reached into his coat, and pulled out an orange box. Reisen didn't need to be a genius to guess that was the special something. This moment was important. This, more than any other part of this trade was when you wanted to see the leader of your trade partner. This was when the boss of both sides would meet.

But the Grineer that Reisen wanted hadn't shown up. He was in the wind.

"Sscan that box, quick."

"Done," Ginger paused. "Reisen, that's the source of the energy."

"Good. I'm going to grab it, be ready to call in the ship."

"Reisen, our mission is to take out the target."

"Our target isn't here. If he wasn't there for the deal he's not showing up."

Vulkas seemed not to notice this oddity. He pulled open the box's lid, and a golden light flooded out of it. The Grineer troops were amazed by the sight. Some even looked relaxed. It rose up to the very clouds, and Reisen had to look up from the rifle's scope due to its brilliance.

"You're sure that's not Light?" Reisen asked.

"Definitely," Ghost responded. Reisen was inclined to agree. He could feel no touch of the Traveler's will from that box.

Lieutenant Koi was not among those who looked relaxed. He leaned in, yet kept a decent distance from Vulkas, who looked determined not to release the box without an agreement. Koi stared, and stared. He said something to Vulkas, and his head gave a slight twitch. It was minuscule, but it was there. Koi had done something he didn't want the Fallen to notice

"Ginger, run a sweep right now for Grineer frequencies."

Reisen heard a hundred different types of static before it settled on one channel. There was still static, but Reisen could make out words in it. He set his equipment to record.

"-they have it." Koi spoke in a voice like grinding metal.

"Good. Take it." Another voice replied. Deeper. Darker.

"Sir, they're giving it to us peacefully."

"At the cost of our weapons and Ether. We will not lose so much to these scavengers. Do you wish to disobey me, Koi?"

"...No sir."

The channel closed. Koi's body language did not betray his intentions. He gave a bow, much deeper this time. Vulkas closed the case and repeated the gesture before he held out the case. Koi's hands were steady as he reached forth to retrieve his prize.

Reisen grinned. "Oh no you don't," he muttered. He grabbed the rod near his rifle, and popped off the lid, revealing a switch. He flicked it forward half way.

Before Koi could touch the box, an explosion near the Fallen ship knocked both him and Vulkas off-balance by the shock wave. The ship itself was undamaged, but a few Dregs were vaporized by the blast, and a few more were knocked through the air like ragdolls.

Vulkas took the box back and kicked Koi, knocking the Lieutenant to the ground. Vulkas drew a knife, only for it to be shot out of his hands by one of the Ballista Grineer. He roared at their supposed betrayal of his trust, and his troops took that as a signal to open fire. The Fallen Dregs were already on the move, and the Grineer Butchers and Scorpions ran out to meet them. Vulkas kept the box close to his chest as Koi rolled away from a stomp to his head. Koi drew his fanged sword while Vulkas drew his swords with his remaining two arms, and they charged into glorious bloody melee.

Neither side would back down. This was too important to both of them.

Then Reisen flicked the switch the entire way, unleashing hell.

Suddenly all over the valley his landmines were going off, spreading dust and dirt all over the place. Balls of fire erupted beneath the Butchers and Scorpions, scattering them into a thousand bloody pieces. Reisen could swear he saw a head go straight up into the air, spinning all the while. That was new.

The explosions formed a disjointed circle around the battlefield. Clouds were swiftly forming in the madness, making Reisen switch to thermal vision again. He saw a burst of flame beneath the Grineer ships stern. Even over the gunfire he could hear the metal being ripped apart, the hull falling to the ground. He could see that what remained of the engines was now so much radioactive scrap metal that had crushed at least a dozen Elite Lancers. Those that remained attempted to regroup, only to themselves be vaporized by a ball of flame rising at their feet. That had to have been half their forces at least.

The Grineer that remained were firing wildly into the smoke. Neither side was making any real accurate shots through this dust. The battlefield had erupted into total chaos at the flick of a switch.

Reisen took aim at one of the two remaining Ballista. One shot was fired, and another Grineer fell to the ground. The Grineer in front of her did not notice her death. Nor did they hear the second shot from Reisen that killed their remaining sniper. Their last eyes through the dust were gone. No more eyes to aim, no more eyes to notice a Guardian.

Reisen rose to his feet and broke into a sprint. He dispelled Time and Patience, switching to his hand cannon Byronic Hero. He slipped around the rocks and boulders, keeping as straight of a line as he could to the box. He switched his visor to thermals, and saw that Koi and Vulkas were locked in combat. Fallen blood stained the sword, and there were several dozen gashes in Koi's armor.

Reisen kept his pace, the box would soon be his. He saw a Butcher running towards his Lieutenant, an intervention Reisen couldn't allow. He diverted his course with a left turn to intercept the Butcher. Just as the Grineer saw him, Reisen tossed a knife into his skull. The Grineer dropped to his knees, and before he could fall forward, Reisen's own momentum knocked him to his back with a shoulder check. Without breaking pace Reisen snatched the knife from his skull, and made a sharp turn towards the two combatants.

From behind Koi, Reisen could see Vulkas's swords laying on the ground, and Koi stood with sword raised high. Reisen emptied his magazine at the large metal helmet. Only one managed to pierce the armor, spilling blood. Koi roared in pain and lost his balance with his pained flailing, losing his sword.

With a cry Koi fell to his back. Reisen dropped into a slide towards Koi's sword. He gripped as he came to a stop. With his free hand he brought it swinging down at the Grineer's head. But Koi's hand shot up to catch it. The two metals clashed like the ringing of a bell.

Out of the corner of his eye Reisen saw Vulkas still on the ground.

"Guardian! sono ba horoi!"

Reisen pushed against Koi, but his considerable strength kept the blade from moving further toward his head. But the Grineer could only do so much. Reisen's pressure was pushing the blade down. He could hear the metal gloves bending, piercing into Koi's flesh. Koi didn't even grunt at such mutilation, the product of countless generations of Grineer genetic engineering.

It was then that Reisen noticed that the sword carried a little trigger at the pommel.

"Your Queens are next." Reisen pulled the trigger back, and the countless teeth in the blade turned into a blur of gnashing, slicing metal. The armor provided little help for Koi, it only slowed the cut that began to slice his arm in two, lengthwise. Blood splattered Reisens visor and his armor. He slotted his pistol to take the handle in both hands, and pushed down. The roar of the sword was deafening, and drowned out the last screams of Lieutenant Koi. Reisen pulled the sword out of the arm, then applied all his strength and swung, cleaving through the helmet and shoulders. Koi's corpse was left two mangled pieces.

Reisen wiped the blood from his visor, seeing the mess at his feet. It was a good kill.

The sword, still growling, found itself hefted onto his back, where it was attached thanks to magnetic pads in his coat. He quickly found the orange box on the ground, no doubt it had been knocked to the ground when Vulkas had.

"Ginger, 'port it to the ship. Now."

"Right." Ginger appeared in a blink of light. She scanned the box, then stopped.

"I need more time to that. This is very complex machinery."

"I'll do it the old fashioned way. Just store it with me. Is the ship en-route?"

"Yes, just head west, over that ridge." Ghost popped a little indicator on Reisen's HUD.

"Right." The box was bathed in light, then vanished into Reisen's inventory. Before he could begin his escape, he heard someone breathing. It was labored and pained.

Reisen turned to the source. Vulkas was still alive, but only just. His mask must've been punctured, because it was leaking a gaseous substance. Clear white fumes were flowing out despite his best efforts. That leak combined with the gases of this place were slowly killing the Fallen Kell.

Yet another member of a dying race, doomed to a slow and painful end. His troops away from him, and his weapons were unreachable in his current state. Vulkas was helpless.

Reisen turned away, towards the pile of weapons cases. The largest one had been knocked on its side. Several dozen Ether seeds were scattered about amid the gunfire. Some were shattered, but most were intact. He grabbed one and moved quickly to Vulkas's side. Vulkas either didn't care a Guardian was next to him, or he was too exhausted to fight back. Yet he was able to raise one of his hands, shielding his face further.

"Stay still," Reisen said. He reached to his coat and tore off a segment of cloth. He wrapped it around the Ether seeds head and readied the release button. With the Cloth acting as a protective shield against the gases, Reisen pressed the rod into the hole and stuffed the cloth in to fill what gaps there were. When he was sure it was done, Reisen pressed the rods release button. He heard a hiss from the rod as its contents were being released to Vulkas. The Kell's breathing was steadied, and he was able to look at him. Reisen took Vulkas's hand and placed it on the rod, then rose.

Before anything else could happen, Reisen made Vulkas eat dust and ran off in a sprint. The ground blended together as a tapestry of various shades of brown. Shots whizzed by him, yet he kept his course through the dust.

The dust grew thinner and thinner until he breached the cloud. The ground steadily rose and rose to a ridge. Reisen breached it and slid down the opposite side. Gravel scattered in his wake and hardened mud shattered. He deactivated thermals, bringing back the sight of a world illuminated by sickly yellows. He looked to the sky, where his ship was making a hard and fast intercept course. Its ramp was already extended and the door was opening.

Ginger chirped in his ear. "Jump...Now!"

Reisen lept, soaring through the air at the ship. It scooped him from the air before he could begin falling. He landed in a roll as the door and ramp closed behind him.

Reisen kept rolling until he slammed into the wall. He felt the ship turn upwards and upwards until it was going straight up through the atmosphere. The clear white walls of his cargo bay shook against the pressure of atmospheric exit. Within ten seconds the shaking grew gentler and gentler, then finally stopped. Reisen allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief.

The ship soon corrected itself, allowing him to stand on the floor and not the wall. He slumped against the wall of the cargo bay. He wasn't tired, but the excitement of his work left his blood pumping. Reisen smiled as he dispelled his helmet into stored matter. He felt the cool air of the ship on his skin, like the breezes in winter atop the Tower plaza. He allowed himself to bask in the moment.

He couldn't wait to get back to the Tower. Thor was going to be so jealous of his new sword.

"Ginger?" Reisen spoke. He rose to his feet and pulled out the orange box. Not a scratch.

"Yes?"

"Send an encrypted transmission to the Tower, target was not at the sight, took something he seemed to want. We'll be back ASAP."

"Will do." Ginger replied. "Why did you not have the ship teleport you inside?"

"And take the fun out of a daring escape? No thank you."

"Of course."

Reisen reached at the lid of the box, undoing the latches on its front. He pushed open the lid, and was met with the golden light of the contents. The light caused no discomfort for a being made of Light itself. He reached into the box and pulled out something that felt cold to the touch even through his gloves. The light faded as the item was removed from the box, and Reisen was left in wonder.

A construct seemingly made of pure gold, dotted with soft blue lights along its surface. Its ornate shape was not subtle by any means, and spoke clearly of the opulent civilization that had crafted such an object.

"Holy shit."

In his hands, Reisen held a Void Key.


	2. Chapter 2

If there was one thing Reisen enjoyed about space travel, it was the quiet. He wasn't an expert on the rules governing the universe as the Warlocks were, but he knew and exploited one such simple fact of physics with gusto: No atmosphere, no sound.

He watched the stars race by as streaks of light with his ships passing. The faint hum of the engines providing him propulsion were the only breaks from the silence, a sound Reisen soon drowned out as he looked to the stars. Wars could and in fact were raging across the system, but none if made a sound in the infinite black. It was beautiful out there. Reisen often found himself staring at the stars.

He felt a twinge of a memory as he did so. His eyelids felt heavy, and he allowed himself to dream. While Guardians had no need for sleep, there was nothing to stop them from doing so. Reisen likened it to allowing oneself to float in water rather than swim to the newer Guardians. He let that current carry him to what dreams may come.

He drifted away from himself, out to the infinite ocean. Reisen was weightless, and subject to the whims of the currents. He could almost hear the waters flowing past his head and curling through his fingers. His fingers moved through the water, drawing little patterns without any design or mandate. There was just freedom of motion.

As he traced these shapes, Reisen felt a resistance form in the water. The shapes were harder to form now; it was like moving his hands through thick oil. He looked to those hands of his, and saw that they were covered in black. The black was cold like ice, yet it was also as hot as tar, and it was moving. It slid up his hands as if it was alive, wriggling and crawling and spreading its filth. Reisen called forth Light and felt the onset of his power explode.

Flames of gold and red coated his body like the surface of the sun. He would burn out every last trace of the black, everywhere. He flared his flames with abandon, spreading them in all directions. The black lost its grip on him. It retreated and vaporized into nothing before his power. With his body now free he rose to his feet. Like a ghost he rose.

He did not need the ground to stand, for he walked on the air. He could see the black reaching endlessly in all directions. Reisen snarled. It was vast, but he would burn it all. With a wave of his hands, a torrent of flames washed over all that he saw. The black was burned away as ash, and he was freed. He had fought the black and burned it away. His fight was over, and he was complete.

The enemy was gone. Yet he felt an empty want. He was complete. But he wasn't.

His task was over, and with it, his purpose was gone. Then, he fell.

Reisen tumbled through nothingness. He reached out to the Light to save him from his fall. But his fight was over. The black was gone. Without the shadows, the light did not need to shine. So he fell, upwards and downwards, tumbling. He looked for something, anything to grab to stop his descent.

There it was. There was a light in the dark. He reached out to it.

Glowing hands of light reached out in turned. Reisen gripped at the hands, which held him with strength and steadiness. He looked to the faces of his rescuers, but there was nothing. He saw no faces of allies or friends, only blackened, grinning skulls. Little broken lamps floated around them, revealing the empty eyes of these beings. Their armor was cracked and rusted, revealing only the bones beneath. Their sickly yellow light touched his hand and grew along his arm. Reisen felt it burning his flesh, but he couldn't scream. He had no voice.

There was a weapon, a sword embedded in a Hive Knight. Reisen reached for the sword and landed on the Knight's chest. The Knight roared in pain with his landing. Blood ran from its mouth. Its hungry eyes stared at him. He felt a ravenous hunger rise within him as well. He shoved the sword into the Knight, screaming. It roared its last as the sword went in up to the pommel. Then the pommel vanished into the Knight, and he fell again.

There was a human arm. It wore a bracelet of frozen fire. Reisen reached out to the arm, and the hand gripped at his. His eyes were drawn to the bracelet's luster. The light reflected in its body was of a thousand different colors, a rainbow contained in shimmering jewels. Their light was reflected in the ground Reisen now found himself on. He could see his own reflection in pools of water surrounding him, as well as skies of raging fire far above him, from where ash fell like rain.

The hand jerked at his own, for something pulled at it. Something strong pulled them both along the ground. Reisen pulled back, and felt the other person's grip tighten. The sounds of broken thunder filled his ears. Someone cried out to him.

"Reisen!"

A large metal plate slammed into Reisen's head like a Titan's shoulder check. His head felt like lead and his vision was blurred. He moved his arms to rise, but they slipped on the floor as if on water. But the floor did have a sheen like water, if water was brown.

Despite the obstacle, Reisen rolled onto his back, leaving himself face to face with Ginger's glowing green eye. He covered his face and thanked the Travelers good graces that Ginger's eye wasn't a clear white, then he'd be squinting every time he looked at her.

"Did that work," he asked. "was I actually drunk there for a minute?"

"You were not. You just dozed off for a little bit, and started muttering in your sleep. You looked stressed so I woke you up. You weren't drunk." Ginger replied, not even trying to hide her matter-of-fact tone from him.

"Not even a little bit?"

"Not even a little bit," Ginger sighed. "It was a good try, but now you've got whatever it is that Okami managed to put together all over the floor." Ginger's eye narrowed at him. Reisen looked from her to the nearby cabinet just outside the cockpit, and knew what he had to do. It was no small effort to get up to his feet, then to the mop and bucket, but he succeeded. A part of him wished he hadn't, but there was nothing to it but to do it. But as he mopped up the failed remains of Okami's chemistry work, succeeding at a chore never felt so bad.

"You missed a spot, next to the chair," Ginger said. Reisen obliged her. He was beginning to think this just wasn't worth it anymore. What batch of chemicals were he and Okami even on now? Number seventy-six? Maybe all the Glimmer and Motes of Light he was paying Okami should be allocated elsewhere. But then again, she so loved to tinker, and looked adorable when they experimented together. It would be a shame to deprive her of such fun.

Maybe he could go visit the Thanatonauts.

"Hey Ginger," he said.

"Missed a spot there, yes?" Reisen followed Ginger's light to a spot next to the alcove that lead into the cockpit and got to work.

"Can Thanatonauts experience inebriation after resurrection?"

"Not according to centuries of data, no."

"Damn."

Soon the soaked up remains of the would-be alcohol joined Reisen's idea in the vacuum of space thanks to a little hatch mechanism he had installed in the ship. That done he returned his attention to the cockpit and his lovely chair; his throne. They should be arriving at Earth any second now, and he wanted to be resting in his chair when they did so. Home sweet home.

The Vanguard would be very interested to find out what he had recovered on Venus, if they weren't focusing their attentions on securing Cayde-6 to the wall. Or keeping Shaxx and Saladin from going at each other's throats. Or dealing with Fireteam "The Bad Guys Don't Care What We Call Ourselves Do They?" Or Okami's experiments. Or Odin's.

Actually, Reisen might have time to swing by Darvo's Wares, and see if he'd have anything good today. Then again, Darvo might be out on one of the Relays.

The blinking lights of the ship's HUD alerted Reisen that they were exiting slipspace. Earth appeared in front him, as if it was suddenly teleported into his field of view. He took control of the ship to gently open up the throttle.

It was always a welcome sight to see the blue planet. No matter the trials and difficulties Guardians faced, one thing they could all agree on was the beauty of coming to Earth. It was scarred and cracked, but it was still their home.

"So," Ginger said. "sleep well?"

"I slept fine," Reisen replied. He focused his attention on the steadily approach body of the Traveler. He stared at the globe like a child stares at their first rubix cube. The Traveler was still an enigma to him no matter how much time he spent thinking on it, and it would likely remain a mystery for a very long time. He felt as if he was staring at a great sleeping dragon; beautiful and yet frightening for all of its powerful majesty. He could only imagine what would happen when it awoke, if it ever did. Who knew what would happen on that day. Such speculation was most considered by the Warlocks, for Hunters had little use for those kinds of debates and discussions.

"Are you sure?" Ginger's question brought Reisen back from his musings.

"Yes I am sure Ginger," he replied, harsher than he had meant to. It gave him away.

"You know, if something bothered you, I am here to help."

"I know you are," Reisen said. "but I'm fine."

"Okay. If you want to talk about it I'll be right here."

"Thank you Ginger," Reisen said with earnest.

With that, Ginger seemed to relent. There were some things about Reisen that nobody was privy to, not even her. He closed his heart to Ginger's obvious discomfort and told himself he needed to focus on the task at hand, for it was a grand task indeed. Underneath his chair, within a secret compartment, was the most valuable Orokin find in over a century.

Orokin Keys had only been seen in historical records. This was something that the Vanguard needed to see. Orokin tech was scattered over the system, but most of it was limited to buildings like storage houses, bunkers, and the odd military base here or there. Many Guardians would try to find these facilities and plunder them for shiny loot, as was second nature to the Traveler's noble stalwart defenders. More often than not they'd find structures covered in moss and bugs, but sometimes there would also be Fallen, Corpus, Cabal, or Grineer crawling around the old structures, looking for something to weaponize. Neither Guardian nor enemy would be likely to find much. A few weapons had been found, but there were decades-long gaps between such discoveries. The weapons that had been found were small arms; smgs and pistols. They were of elegant design and usually well-made, but Guardians weren't likely to keep them for long. If these weapons weren't lost when the Guardians were killed, the Vanguard would confiscate them for research. Most Guardians weren't pleased when this happened of course. Golden Age tech was valuable, and often powerful.

But with most of the finds being junk, it was almost not worth it to explore for anyone not overconfident or too curious for their own good. The result of these grand and fruitless treasure hunts was younger Guardians going around to where Orokin tech could be found, and attempting an expedition as a sort of hazing ritual. The older Guardians had learned to dismiss these sites. There was nothing worth finding.

Reisen could still remember his own involuntary spelunking session when he had just arrived at the Tower all those years ago. The dare was a straight drop down into a cave somewhere in the South American Badlands. Naturally he had taken the jump. What was the danger? Guardians were immortal, and he had made his way to a ship in Old Russia during a massive firefight between Grineer and Fallen merely five minutes after he was made a Guardian. He had even taken out a good number of combatants on both sides. Surely he could handle a little jump.

It had turned out that he could technically survive the fall, but immortal did not mean indestructible, so he had wound up as a stain on the cave floor. Ginger resurrected him, but Reisen didn't remember seeing much of the Orokin structures besides the pearly white floors before he passed out, apparently fidgeting throughout the entire rescue operation from his first death.

There were some sections of Earth where anyone could find the Orokin's shimmering constructions. Nobody was quite sure why the Orokin built places there, but there were as many theories as there were stars in the sky. Reisen's mentor, Thousand Eyes, claimed there were some kind of shimmering structures hidden within the mountain range nearest to the City, but those claims had gone unproven for many decades. There were also supposedly some buried and crushed ruins out in the European Dead Zone, but nobody was in much of a rush to look for them in that death maze.

There was a settlement out in the Mediterranean wastelands with a prominent Orokin structure. Its greatest functions, as far as the City could tell, were providing food to the locals and a protective shield around the settlement. The Vanguard had approached the locals for information on the Orokin technology, but they and the Orokin Warmind – for that was what most residents of the City called it – were quite adamant about their only means of defense and food be left undisturbed. A few on the City Council protested this, but the Vanguard reminded them that they already had one ambivalent Warmind running around, and they certainly didn't need to make an enemy of this one. It was declared off limits to the City.

The truly brave Guardians would venture out to the other planets to find Orokin structures. But in addition to the usual greeting parties found at these sites, they had encountered other obstacles, like traps, that made accessing things difficult. That, and a legion of horrors. So to find something like an Orokin Key was surely a valuable find.

If only Reisen even knew what the damn thing was supposed to do.

"Hey Ginger, think I can use this as a Dawning ornament?"

"That would be a grievous misuse. The Vanguard would be displeased."

"Damn."

The atmosphere of the planet greeted Reisen's ship with a thud. The re-entry friction vibrated his ship, and more importantly his chair. He always felt a bit of tension in his neck go whenever he was at atmospheric reentry. He passed down and down, eventually cutting through the cloud line. He kept his speed slow as they passed through layer after layer, until finally they broke through to the site of the mountains.

The ship swayed to and fro around snow-covered peaks. Mountains became hills. Hills became valleys. The valleys stretched on until they were cut off by the walls of the City. The ship passed over them, into the The Last City. The last truly safe haven for humankind in the entire solar system. The Walls protected its citizens, and the looming Traveler overhead let the people rest easy. The Tower housed their protectors, the immortal Guardians. As his ship moved in, Reisen could see them running about the place. Business as usual.

Reisen's radio scratched as a transmission came through. "Reisen, you're back early."

"Howdy Halliday." Reisen replied. He released his grip on the controls as the Tower took command of his vessel.

"That mission go well?" she asked. Reisen scooped up the Orokin Key.

"Oh yeah. I snagged some pics and scans of Grineer ships."

There was a pause from Halliday. "You did?"

"I did. It was a good-looking ship. There were some powerful engines on it."

"Ya don't say. Well, can I get a look at those pretty pictures?"

"Of course, I got them just for you."

"Ooh, for little ol me? You shouldn't have."

Reisen grinned. He had her interest. "Ah, they're yours, after you let me take a crack at those new turrets I saw you were working on last week. I think I could make some improvements.

"...Dangit Reisen. I knew that was coming and I just walked into it. I'll get back to ya."

"You wouldn't be trying to skimp out on a sweet find would you?"

"No," Halliday huffed. "Vanguard's been all over me to get these Fallen blockade runners up and running. The damn things are busted and yet they want them patched up and ready ASAP. So, I'll hit ya up later. Good luck with the Vanguard." With that, Reisen was met with static. His ship was pulled in at the edge of the Tower plaza, ready to transmat him.

"Was she actually working on Fallen blockade runners?" Ginger asked.

"Probably. We're still finding junk to salvage after Skolas's little stunt."

"True. Say, do you hear music?"

Reisen smiled. "Oh yeah."

The world around him turned blue and vanished in a flash, only to reform just as quickly to form the Tower plaza. Now on solid ground, he looked back at his ship. It hovered for a moment and then drifted off, headed to the Tower hangar. He returned his attention to the plaza, and what would inevitably occur. Maybe if he got quickly enough to the Vanguard he could avoid the attention.

Through the plaza loudspeakers he heard the roar of classical music.

" _Take me down to the paradise city where the grass is green and the girls are pretty. . ."_

Not one of his favorites, but still a good tune. Near Rahool's shop, Reisen saw a line of impatient Guardians waiting for their Engrams to be decoded. Rahool looked to be in no sort of rush, as usual. On the opposite side was Eververse, where that smug Tess was reading through a clipboard. She looked at him, her cold eyes scanning him like a shark does its prey. He would be more than happy if he could go an entire day without seeing Guardians waste hard-earned cash on her crap.

A gush of wind from behind him indicated another ship coming in. Reisen looked back to see a Warlock transport in, decked in black robes. They removed their helmet, revealing the visage of Zirconia, an Exo with a glow in her eyes and a smirk on her lips. She noticed him, giving him a little wave which he returned. She quickly left, no doubt off to the Dead Orbit group. He respected her prowess, but she still gave him the creeps.

The Guardians running about the place were more interested in coordinating their fireteams than in partying the day away. One group sprinted past Reisen, not paying attention to him on their way to the Gunsmith. A lot of Guardians were racing each other to see who could get the most loot out of the City's new treaty with the Reef, and they needed good firearms to do that delicious treasure hunting. Reisen breathed a sigh of relief.

"Holy shit, it's Reisen!"

A voice from behind Reisen belonged to a definite rookie Guardian. Several Guardians scattered around him turned, focusing their attention solely on him. Before he knew it they had surrounded him. Hive thralls were less aggressive and hands-on than these guys. Reisen had to hold some of them back, lest they dog pile him to death.

"Can I join your fireteam?" One Titan asked.

"Can you show me how to knife an Ogre?" A Hunter held out his knife to him.

"How did you kill Crota?"

"How do you keep your cape so tidy?"

"Sign my gun!"

"Guys," Reisen shouted. "I will sign everything later." Meaning never. "But I have to take care of some big Vanguard business, okay?"

"Sign my helmet!"

"Fight me in the Crucible!"

"Love me!"

The sheer force of dozens of pushing Guardians caused Reisen to fall to the ground, which caused all of them to fall on top of him. Beneath the weight of all these Guardians, there was only one honorable course of action for him to take; a grenade. Beneath the wriggling pile, Reisen summoned a skip grenade to his hand, and dropped it. It replicated itself upon hitting the ground into six more grenades of Arc energy. Before any of the Guardians could register the mysterious hissing noise, Reisen clenched his fist and punched forward, causing him to Blink through space. He landed near the Bounty board, and quickly cloaked himself.

In a flash of lightning, Guardian bodies were sent flying through the air, trailing bolts of electricity all the way. A Warlock landed at Reisen's feet, one landed on the bounty robot, a Hunters few crashed into the Eververse shop roof, and a Titan slid along the ground and knocked Rahool and the waiting line on their asses like bowling pins. People ran in panic from the projectiles, a few escaped their trajectory.

A few Titans were struck head on by a Titan's sparking body, and starting taking it out on another group of Titans via the tried and true method of shoulder check.

Before anyone could recover from the initial chaos, one of the Titans in the brawl got chucked right through Evaverse's front window. A Warlock and a Hunter tackled two of the Titans like it was a mosh pit. Other Guardians seemed to agree that yes, it was indeed a mosh pit, and they would like it very much if they could join in. Guardians ran from Rahool's shop, they scattered from the Gunsmith, they swarmed from the Bounty Tracker – almost taking Reisen along with them – to the brawl. Everyone wanted to get in on the fight.

What started as a scrap between half a dozen Titans now exploded into a massive fight between dozens and dozens of hooting and hollering Guardians. Rahool ducked into his shop, and the Evaverse shop windows closed its remaining windows with reinforced steel barricades that failed to close over the Titan still lodged in the window.

The music was cut off with the sound of a record scratch, then picked up with a new song.

" _Welcome to the jungle! We've got fun and games!"_

Guardian bodies were launched off the Tower. A Titan tackled a Hunter over the edge, seemingly not caring that they'd both end up as smears on the Tower wall. Several Warlocks followed soon after. As it was, Reisen took this golden opportunity to slip away from the chaos. Still invisible, he crept down the stairs to the Vanguard. The last thing he needed was another dog pile just outside the Vanguard chamber. Or to have Shaxx nearby during that dog pile, again.

While the chaos went on outside, Reisen made it down the stairs, thankfully without disturbance. When he could see nobody around but the robots and an occupied Shaxx, He deactivated his cloak. Now he could breath easy without fear of getting dogpiled in the darkened hallway. The only sources of light and activity were a few Frames working at their stations next to the Vanguard entrance. The entrance itself was closed, likely because they were in session. There was nothing to do but wait until that session was over.

"Reisen."

A voice spoke with a chilling tone. The voice was Eris Morn's, who resided in her little spot beneath the stairs. Her little shop was adorned with odd cloths and Hive trinkets. All three of her eyes were focused on him. The sight sent a shiver up his spine. But he pressed on.

"Eris," he responded, keeping an eye on her glowing orb. It still reeked an unholy stench.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"No thanks. Just waiting for the Vanguard."

Eris turned her attention away from Reisen. Something distracted her. It was a noise like dropping books on the floor, and it was getting louder. It grew more intense until finally, a Guardian's body came tumbling down the stairs. It rolled and rolled until it stopped at Reisen's feet in a charred and smoking lump. He recognized it as the Titan who had wanted to fight him in the Crucible.

Another body followed the first one, but got stuck on the stairs and laid there. Then a third rolled down, knocked the second one from its spot, and then both joined the Titan body in a lump of dead, scorched Guardians.

Eris Morn looked from Reisen to the bodies. She smirked in a rare expression of amusement.

"You can't prove anything, Eris."

"I saw nothing," Eris said. "Your celebrity is a great load to bare."

Reisen leaned up against the wall by her alcove.

"Funny. So, any word from the great beyond? Whispers from the ether? Is there an invasion coming or another Hive God?"

"No. Not since Crota died have I heard anything unusual from the Hive. But make no mistake. They whisper, they hunger, they plan. Even with his death that has not changed. There are others in power within their swarms, and the Hive still moves. As they always have, as they always will."

Reisen felt his fist clench. "Great." He slowed his breathing, allowing his fist to relax.

"Calm your Light. Focus it into a blade to slaughter the Hive. Keep it sharpened. The fight will be long, but we shall see it end. Someday."

"Let's hope so," he sighed.

"I also have recently felt other things brewing. Odd voices in the dark. They are new to me."

"Could it be new broods of Hive? New factions?"

"I am not sure. I had believed the Hive are trying to closer guard their secrets from me. But it is strange. These thoughts and voices are odd. They do not think exactly like Hive, but they are close. These voices carry the same evil. They are cold voices. Controlled."

Reisen tilted his head. "Do you think it's a new threat?"

"We'll see. Perhaps it is nothing. But I do sense a threat on the horizon, one fast approaching that could spell doom."

"Shit. Vex? Cabal?"

"No. One that will bring great despair, to you."

The loudspeakers at the plaza cut the music, and sent out a booming voice.

"Reisen, report to the Vanguard at once!"

Reisen looked at Eris, who was doing her best to hide her twitching smirk.

After entering the Vanguard chamber, Reisen was force to sit through much blustering and reading of the riot act by Zavala. He practically had the rants memorized by this point. While Zavala went through the rotations, Cayde stood watching this whole scene, enjoying the sight of the Titan chewing out someone who wasn't Cayde himself. It was hard to blame him. There were so few times where Cayde got to enjoy himself inside his prison of administrative duties and office work.

Ikora was far less amused at this. But it was hard to tell what she was thinking. She could be preparing a Nova Bomb and nobody would suspect a thing until just before they were all vaporized.

The rest of the staff in the Vanguard chamber were desperately trying to look busy. Luckily, Zavala seemed to be winding down.

"-we do not need more chaos on the plaza."

"Mhm."

"Do you understand Reisen?"

"Mhm." he repeated. Zavala seemed hardly convinced, but relented. After all, these sort of incidents happened all the time at the Tower. They were part of the daily grind. Go out, kill enemies, finish bounties, come back, get punched in the face. To Reisen it was nothing new. Then again, he didn't have to run the place. If he was the Hunter Vanguard he might be having a seizure over how crazy everyone was. But luckily he didn't have to consider being in charge, because he would sooner willingly stick his head inside the mouth of an Infested Charger than have to run this place.

"Now that that's over with," Ikora said. "Reisen, mission report."

Reisen obliged them, telling of the Grineer and Fallen's meeting where they traded supplies and weapons. The Grineer had provided the most material, but the Fallen had the most valuable cargo. Luckily no trade had occurred before he blew them all sky high, butchered the Grineer in charge, and took his fancy sword. He left out the part about sparing the Fallen Kell, skipping over to his daring and heroic escape.

"Wish I could do one of those..." Cayde muttered. "Do the fun stuff."

"Speak up Cayde." Ikora said.

"Nothing, nothing."

"Anyway," Reisen continued. "blew them to smithereens, and I took a sword. So, good day for me." He rose from his seat, and turned to leave. Then he stopped and turned back to the Vanguard.

"Oh, there was something else."

Zavala looked tired of Reisen's presence. "And that would be?"

Reisen summoned forth the box containing the key. He undid the latches, and slipped off the cover. Immediately a golden light shined through, causing many to avert their eyes. He watched their reactions with much glee as he pulled out the object within. Its light dimmed to a soft glow, and he held it for the Vanguard to see.

"This."

The whole room sat in silence. The only ones paying attention to their work were the robots.

"A Void Key..." Ikora mused. She moved to Reisen's side, where he handed it to her.

"Void Key?" Reisen asked. Ikora didn't hear him.

"Is it genuine?" Zavala asked.

Cayde scoffed at Zavala. "Genuine? You serious? Zavala, if you knew anything about treasure, you'd know that anything that shiny is either real, or wrapped up in Christmas lights. It's not wrapped up in Christmas lights, right?"

Ikora ignored Cayde. She inspected it from every angle with the wizened eyes of a Warlock. Reisen watched her do her work with a faint tinge of envy. The knowledge that Warlocks had at their command got them often labeled as bookworms. It wasn't without justificatio; more than a few Warlocks that he knew would spend months straight in the libraries, researching archaic lore and the mysteries of the cosmos. He couldn't remember the last time he read, truly read, one of the Tower's texts. The Warlocks could dive into such things with abandon, something Hunters just weren't suited for. Their place was in the wilds, chasing the next target or next stash of loot.

Of course, Reisen would never publicly admit his envy, unless he wanted Cayde to throw textbooks at him and declare him a traitor to the Hunter name. Odin would never let him hear the end of it. His thoughts were brushed aside when he saw the glint of excitement in Ikora's face. It was like a rookie Guardian getting an exotic Engram.

She turned to the rest of the Vanguard. "It's real."

Zavala looked at the key, a troubled look on his face. Cayde leaned on the table with wide eyes.

"Holy shit," he said. "What does it do?"

The daggers that shot from Ikora's eyes could pierce a Hive warship.

"Only you would be so bold as to ask that." she said. Cayde blinked.

"Thank you?"

Against his better judgment, Reisen spoke up. "I was going to ask the same thing."

Ikora's gaze suddenly focused on Reisen. It was never wise to make light of a Warlock's knowledge, lest one be blasted to bits. Thankfully, no such spectacle came. Ikora regained her composure and returned to her inspecting. This allowed Zavala to speak up.

"A private session is in order," he turned to the staff gathered around. "Clear the chamber."

The staff obliged in quick succession. They cleared out in single-file lines as had been practiced many times before when emergency sessions were called. The only staff allowed in were the robots, who kept things tidy and ran basic systems for the Vanguard. The whispers of the evacuating staff died down as they exited.

"Is that Reisen? How did he get that thing?"

"Ikora looks so mad."

"What's a Void Key?"

"Five hundred Glimmer that Cayde is getting blasted."

Now the only ones at the Vanguard table were the Vanguard themselves and Reisen.

Cayde looked among them in silence.

Zavala stood steadfast at his spot of the table.

Reisen looked at the Key again, at a loss of anything else to do. When he looked at it now, the golden sheen on it was more beautiful than he had initially seen. It was a glow more rich than the finest gold. Was it made out of actual gold, or some other material? He had seen drawings and pictures of Orokin structures, and they typically had gold outlines to them. But was it actually gold? Could it be worth more than gold? How was it so shiny?

Ikora coughed. "Reisen."

"Sorry," he focused on the meeting. "that thing is really shiny. It's distracting."

"Oh. I thought it was just me." Cayde said. Reisen nodded in agreement.

"We will need you to clear out as well. Vanguard business only." Ikora said. "We will send triple the amount of glimmer promised to you once the meeting is over. Thank you for your work."

There was a way Ikora spoke those words. It was an icy undertone. He would've asked what the Key could do. He would've asked if they needed his Fireteam to take care of the situation. But the look in the eyes of Zavala's and Ikora's eyes silenced any questions he might've had. He headed to the Vanguard chamber doors. They slammed shut as soon as he was through.

Reisen expected to see the staff milling about, maybe talking to Shaxx. But they had dissipated, no doubt going off to various spots on the Tower. Vanguard private sessions were lengthy affairs, so they could do as they wished for a few hours. So that left just him in the hall. No doubt sensing his loneliness and lack of loot satisfaction, Ginger popped into physical existence.

"That was weird." she said.

"Indeed." a voice like humming ship engines spoke.

The sound of heavy footsteps drew Reisen's attention to two Titans approaching him. Lord Shaxx, and Thor.

"Did you anger them again?" Thor asked.

"Would you believe it was on accident this time?" Reisen took Thor's hand in his. He struggled with the tight grip and focused on holding his own. He could see Thor's eyes sparking with excitement. Finally, they stopped. He rubbed his hand while Thor laughed.

"I'm glad peace time hasn't dulled you," he said. "Your strength is considerable, for a Hunter."

"Thanks." Reisen chuckled. "How has it been Thor? Haven't seen you in a while."

"I've been busy helping Lord Shaxx. Crucible events."

"Ah." Reisen looked to Lord Shaxx. "And how is the Crucible?"

To this, Shaxx could only sigh. "It goes well. Our Guardians grow in strength with each day. I am pleased with the results. You would do well to join a few matches and provide some education."

"He's saying he wants you back," Thor said with a massive grin, feeling safer. "as some of the Hunters get arrogant. They need someone to break them properly."

Reisen pointed at Shaxx.

"Well, yes. But break them with the methods of Hunters. Plus, it's quite entertaining to watch. Don't you agree Lord Shaxx?" Thor lightly elbowed Shaxx as he laughed. But the legendary Titan did not mirror Thor's laugh. In fact, he ignored it outright.

"I worry that our peaceful years since the House of Wolves incident has made some of us soft. We cannot afford to be soft, not while the Darkness and its pawns still linger. Take the Hive for instance." Thor's laughter died down as Shaxx continued. "Crota is dead, a cause for celebration if ever there was one. But just because you killed him, it does not mean the threat is gone. Nor have the Fallen stopped their efforts with the House of Wolves defeat. While I revel in our triumphs, victory itself can defeat the mightiest of Guardians. We must be vigilant."

There was a silence between the three of them. Shaxx tended to have that effect.

Thor coughed. "In any event, Reisen, what say you to a walk in the City tonight? It's been awhile since I've been out of the Tower, and from what I've heard you've been on missions non-stop."

"Thanks, but I can't tonight. I need to hit the library."

There was another silence between the three of them.

"Now I'm worried." Thor said. "Is it the end times Lord Shaxx?"

"This would be a very disappointing end if so."

Reisen rolled his eyes. "Go jump off the tower, you golems." He slipped by the two giant pillars shaped like humans. He would be very grateful to get into the library and avoid any more social contact for the day. No parties, no fist fights, just him.

"Be viligent Reisen," Shaxx called."We'll need you when the next threat arises."

"I'll be ready." he replied. "Eris." Eris Morn gave him a nod as he passed up the first flight of stairs.

"Reisen," Thor called. Reisen stopped as the Titan approached. In the fading afternoon sun, Reisen noticed that Thor's beard had been grown out considerably since the last time they'd seen each other. His hair had grown as well, into a glorious mane. It was as if he was trying to imitate a lion. Reisen had to admit that he was succeeding.

"Sup?" he asked. "Oh, for the record, the brawl wasn't my fault. Entirely."

"What?"

"What?"

Thor struggled to come up with a response.

"Anyway, are you well?"

"I'm alright. Why?"

"Forgive my boldness, but we never talked about what happened."

Reisen searched his memory for any recollection of what Thor was talking about. Failing to find anything, his mind drew blanks on the conversation. Thor was talking riddles to him. Thor seemed to recognize his confusion, and looked uncomfortable. He wasn't sure what words to speak.

"It pains me to ask. How have you been since you killed Crota?"

Thor's words hung in the air. Several seconds passed before Reisen fully registered the question. When he did register Thor's words, he wished he hadn't. A cold sensation rushed through his body when he heard the Hive God's name.

"What about it?" Reisen said.

"Forgive me, but you were in the midst of a wild rage throughout the battle, and afterward you seemed," Thor paused. "withdrawn. I don't pretend to know the minds of Hunters. But that battle played tricks with all our minds, even Amaris. I can still hear Crota's death cry, or remember the hum his sword made when he drew it. Do you remember?"

Thousands of images.

There were thousands of images of Crota burned into Reisen's memory. Every second of the battle was perfectly preserved within his mind. He felt the dry, stale air stinging his lips through his helmet, the screeches of hundreds of Knights and Thralls filling his ears, and the eyes. He could see the eyes of that Hive God. They were eyes of power, that had filled Reisen with fear.

"I remember bits."

"It was only thanks to you that we won. When the battle looked to turn against us, your courage inspired us, renewed our Light. I remember everyone back here praising you like you were the Traveler's avatar, a god walking among us." Thor chuckled at the glory of that battle, but placed his hand on Reisen's shoulder, showing his troubled eyes. "We were so enraptured by what you had done that nobody asked how you were."

Thor's words rang true, as much as Reisen hated to admit it.

"It got weird in there," he said, still controlled. "That much Darkness and Hive magic definitely messed with my head. But I'm fine. What matters is we won. I don't fully remember how because it all happened so fast, but we won."

The memories kept flashing before Reisen's eyes. He could remember when all hope seemed lost. Knights, Wizards, Thralls, were all flooding the chamber while Crota himself stood tall and proud despite his wounds. The room was getting darker for the entire Fireteam as things got worse. They were surrounded. Crota had laughed, saying he'd consume their Light and then kill the rest of the Guardians. He had looked up at those three eyes. He had seen the power in those eyes, and the joy.

Then, something had snapped in him. His vision had gone white, and he felt himself calling upon more Light than he ever had before. He remembered his knife cutting through Hive carapaces, and his hand cannon firing. Reisen had lost count of how many Hive he had cut down while his knife crackled with Arc energy, or how many times he had reloaded. The next thing he could remember was snatching up the Ascendant Sword, the only weapon that could kill Crota. He had charged, screaming like a madman, sword at his side.

"We did it Thor. That's all that matters."

"And how have you been since?"

"I've been fine." Reisen looked up at the sky. The sun was beginning to set.

"I'll talk to you later, I want to get to the library before the evening rush hour."

"Very well," Thor said. "Farewell."

Reisen wasted no time in getting up the stairs, leaving Thor in his dust. A voice in the back of his head implored him to go back and talk more. But he couldn't register that voice. Its words just fell on deaf ears.

His trip across the plaza was thankfully uneventful. The brawl had been pacified by a squadron of Paladins, the Vanguard peacekeepers on the Tower. The fight had been quelled due to their swift action separating and calming the Guardians who had let the brawl get a bit too personal, and caused more than a bit of property damage.

A cluster of knives had pinned one Titan to the ceiling by his sash, and he could only swing his fists in impotent rage while screaming every insult he knew.

Several Warlocks were stuck together by some kind of reverse gravity bomb.

A couple of Warlocks and Hunters carried one groaning Titan by his hands and feet.

The chaos routinely caused by Guardians was a constant source of frustration for Zavala, and endlessly entertaining for everyone else.

Reisen couldn't stick around for it for long, and soon he slipped into the elevator. It took him down dozens of floors before finally depositing him at the library's entrance hall.

Upon entering, he was reminded of how extravagant Warlocks could be. The entirety of the hallway was marble and laced with gold. There were pillar covered in gold leaf patterns lining the walls. The ceiling was so high up that he had long since given up trying to guess its height. Even though the place was such a tall chamber and his footsteps echoed, it still felt outlandish to him. So much time and effort had been spent on gathering the resources and shaping the materials into a hallway.

But he couldn't deny the majesty of the statues of Guardians between the pillars were an awe-inspiring sight even now, the pinnacles of the Guardian classes. There were six in total, three on each wall, mirroring their opposite. First was Hunters, then Warlocks, then Titans. There was some reasoning to the order of the statues, but it escaped Reisen. He just enjoyed that Hunters were the first that new Guardians would see.

Beyond the statues and pillars and marble surfaces, there was the service desk. It was a grand rectangular thing, wide and thick like ship armor. Above the desk, on the nearby wall was a massive gold plate the size of a Hive Tombship, adorned with scenes from the City's past. It was a beautiful piece of art that in no way hurt his eyes to look at. By tearing away his gaze from that ridiculous slab of metal, he was able to talk with the three Frames at the desk.

"How may we help you?" they chirped in unison, as per usual.

"Hey," Reisen looked between the three, then settled on the middle one. "when do you close?"

"The library is open to all Guardians every hour of every day."

"Right. Forgot."

"Confirmed," they all said.

"Any limit on book borrowing? The amount of books, the time, that kind of thing?"

"Each Guardian can borrow five books for up to two months."

"Ah yes, forgot that too."

"Confirmed. Can we refresh your memory on any other subjects?"

Reisen chose to ignore their sarcasm. He was being mocked by tin cans.

"Thanks. Last question, then you can get back to calculating Pi. Is he in?"

The Frames looked among each other. Their eyes flickered as information passed between them in miliseconds. When that was finished, they returned their attention to him.

"The request was too vague for us to answer. Requesting clarification."

"Come on, you know who I mean. I don't have time for this."

"Requesting additional clarification," one said

"Would you like some water?" the second asked.

"Have you rested since your return to the Tower?" the third asked.

Reisen's eyes narrowed. He leaned on the desk, looking at the Frames like targets.

"Is. He. In?"

The Frames exchanged another, much quicker, look between them.

"Confirmed. Wing seventeen, column thirty-nine." they chirped.

Reisen paused, staring at them while they did the same. There was no sound in the chamber, no clicks of the Frames inner mechanisms. Even his own cape didn't move. There was just his gaze on the three, freezing them to their spots. When he felt satisfied, he relented, turning to head to the several doors near the desk.

"Thanks guys," he called out, before slipping through into the library.

Or rather, the short hallway and ramp that lead into the library. The library itself actually took up however many floors above them, and the hallway was below it all. His feet tapped softly on the velvet-lined metal floor as he climbed its stretch. He soon emerged into the chamber containing the Guardians vast expanse of knowledge inscribed in paper.

It was, as always, impossible to see inside this place.

"Can't be bothered to get lamps," Reisen muttered. "Superstitious Warlocks."

"Be nice," Ginger said.

"I will when I can see," Reisen summoned a flame into his hand. "without needing to do this."

As the flames danced in his hand, Reisen was met with walls of books on either side. They were packed together in hundreds of shelves, from the floor up to where even his eyes couldn't see. He passed piles of carefully stacked books on the floor where none could fit in the shelves. Without a light source, this place was impossible to navigate. Beyond his flame there was only the pitch black expanse of knowledge.

"They could at least let in some natural light." he said.

"You know they can't. There's too many books and shelves. To even try would require months of reorganizing these texts to accommodate the space for something like a window."

Reisen looked up, and the shelves continued deep into the blackness. Even with his light, there were parts of those towers he couldn't see. There weren't even lamps or torches in here. Guardians were only allowed to search the records with their own Solar Light, but they'd have to pass a test to ensure they could control Solar and not set fire to anything. Even after that, the Guardians would need to be accompanied by a Warlock or Librarian Frame for several months until they could wander this area unsupervised.

Those venturing into this area often took maps. Reisen only just realized he should've done the same as he arrived at an intersection, one of hundreds. The way forward lead down a gentle curve, while left and right would lead to the other rings of this place. There were supposed to be signs indicating the sections, but the library's regulars didn't need them. The only ones who used this place with any regularity were Warlocks, and they tended to memorize the library's layout. Reisen's need for a map was great, as was the urge to kick the three Librarian frames off of the Tower.

"Where did they say he was again?"

"You don't remember?" Ginger asked, indignant.

"No. Do you?"

Ginger said nothing.

"Great. Crap."

Reisen could see dust drifting about, almost like snow. It covered the floor leading to the right and left. The only spot where the dust was interrupted was behind him, by his own footsteps. He narrowed his eyes as he scanned the floor in all directions. Kneeling down, the Light gave him a better view of the floor. The floors were the same velvet as the entrance hall, and the areas covered in dust were darkened, almost into a shade of black. This made finding the cleaner parts of the floor quite simple for his trained Hunter eyes.

Straight ahead of him were footprints. He could recognize the shape of the boots. This was the right way to his guide.

With brisk pace he followed the tracks, only changing his pace to step around piles of books. The tracks turned a corner, then went on before coming to a dead end. Reisen was perplexed, then noticed the tracks slipped through a nook in the shelves. He followed them through, where the tracks turned again. Down the hall there was a low-hanging roof of books that formed a small tunnel. This forced him to crouch as he followed the tracks.

When he emerged, he passed a six-way intersection followed by an S-shaped hallway that dropped him at another intersection, this time with three pathways. The tracks led down one pathway, which almost immediately took him past the little tunnel he had already gone through. On and on the turns went. If there was any rhyme or reason to this place, it was lost on him.

The tracks finally stopped in the middle of a hallway. It was a hallway like any one of countless others. It was silent, and without a single blemish in the dust on the walls, books, and floor. There was no signs of a Guardian being here.

"The hell?" Reisen muttered. "That jackass is messing with me again."

"Maybe there's a portal network in here as well. Uh, Reisen?"

"Don't be ridiculous Ginger. The place is weird but its not magical."

"Reisen?"

"But for crying out loud, I swear he's doing this on purpose. He would." Reisen checked for recently moved books, but the entire area was covered in pristine dust and undisturbed. Nobody had moved things in here for a good while.

"Reisen!"

"What?"

"Look up."

Reisen looked up, at the floor. Then he looked down, also at the floor. He blinked as he looked up again. It was hard to make out, but he could see footprints in the dusty floor up there.

"How?"

Then his body dropped from the floor onto the floor. He was left with stars in his eyes as he looked up at the floor.

He half expected to find himself on a backwards-facing ceiling any second now. This whole thing wasn't possible, but if gravity could be turned on and off in such localized areas, anything was possible inside the Warlocks domain. Maybe there were inverse magnetic polarity fields in some of these books, or there were tears in the universal barrier that lead to more of the library's wings.

Reisen forgot what he was thinking about. His head felt like a block of lead, and for some reason everything smelled like copper.

"Oh," Ginger said. "I see, the Library uses-," Reisen smacked the side of his helmet. "Right, sorry. You alright there?"

"Super." Reisen rose to his feet, once again shrouded in the dark. His light had gone out, thankfully. None of the books were damaged, and he wouldn't have to explain to Ikora why he had set the Library on fire. No Guardian would come back from her special kind of wrath.

The tracks were easy to follow now. They went in a straight line, which of course was easy to follow for any Hunter worth their salt. However, there was one small difficulty, namely that the line went on for three miles.

Reisen wasn't sure what distance, time, or proper grammatical categorization even meant anymore. The tracks kept going, and so he did as well. For knowledge, for the chase, and mostly because he needed a way out of this madness when he was done. He was almost wishing for death when the finally tracks ended. He looked above, beneath, and behind himself for any mysterious track divergences. There were none. There was nothing.

There was no portal. No inverse staircase or invisible doors could be seen. He hadn't run into himselves again and tried to asked for directions, which had made every him uncomfortable. There was no trap door either. The tracks just stopped. One part of his mind screamed for an excuse to start playing frisbee with some of the books. The other part of his mind could only whisper a simple suggestion. Look up.

High above him and the dusty floor was a faint light. It was so faint as to be nearly unnoticeable. But to his eyes, there was a purple light hidden behind a floating Guardian. They both shifted back and forth just slightly, and Reisen heard the turn of old paper from the light. The Guardian's coat hung loose, gently drifting back and forth with the movements of its wearer.

Reisen puckered his lips to let out a whistle, but decided against it. Instead, he gave a cough.

The light stopped drifting, and the Guardian began to drift down to the ground. The purple light was from the power of Void Light, and it rested in the hand of a Voidwalker Warlock. The Warlock hadn't closed his book even as he landed. In fact, the book was floating by his power, along with several more behind his back.

"Reisen," he said. "I didn't expect a Hunter like you to come here."

"Well, desperate times Odin."

"So it would seem. I am curious, how did you find me so quickly?"

"Quickly?"

"Yes. I've only been in here for five minutes." Beneath his helmet, there was surely a grin.

"You're an ass." Reisen said.

"Yes, screw you too."

Without warning, Reisen pulled in his oldest friend for a hug. Odin was surprised by it, but quickly returned the gesture with a chuckle. When they broke, Odin was still laughing to himself.

"I heard you fall on the floor about forty minutes ago, I should say."

"Right. This place still gives me the creeps, and it makes no damn sense."

"I think it's delightfully chaotic."

"I would too, if gravity didn't give me the bar toss. Has Tower life been good?"

"Quite. I intend to get back in the field soon, but it has been nice to dive into our texts with all my focus. I've learned so much in so little time, and I'm still only scratching the surface of knowledge. Legends upon myths upon facts, all weaved together and yet separate."

"Awesome. Any luck with teaching Hunters how to fly? Golden Age tech?"

"The former, no. The latter, mostly no. So much of our history is in tatters, and those accounts we do have clash with one another so often that it's like the timeline split at some point. That would explain a few historical inconsistencies actually."

"Fucking Vex," Reisen said.

"Oh yeah. So, how can I help? I trust you're not here because you like the scenery."

"I need to learn everything I can about the Orokin."

* * *

The smell of blood and vomit filled the room. Their captive's screams had died down into a quiet moaning. Finally. The Fallen's voices were always so disgusting to hear, especially when they howled their language. Every word, every shout, every cry for blood sickened the Captain.

"Filthy scavengers," he said. "You lowly maggots disgust me."

The Fallen, a Vandal, slowly raised its head. It barked in its language. The words were so garbled, and the Vandal's body so broken, that it took the Captain's translator several seconds before it could translate the Fallen language into the Grineer dialect.

"Degenerate flesh, serving Queens of filth."

The Captain turned to the technician manning the restraints. At his command, the technician sent thousands of volts of electricity through their captive's nervous system. Bolts shot from its body as it screamed. Well, it tried to scream. Its voice was so hoarse that it came out more as a strangled gargle to the Captain's ears.

When he deemed it sufficient punishment for the insult, the Captain ceased the shock.

"How much more punishment can we give him?" he asked his staff. The one standing over a metal table held up one of his knives, idly inspecting the blade.

"Plenty more sir. The Fallen are filth, but they're tough filth. Give me another hour with him and he'll be screaming his secrets to you, I promise."

"It's been forty hours already Sheer. What more can you do to him?"

Sheer picked up a series of nails. They stunk of the Hive.

"Good." The Captain nodded his approval, then turned to the Vandal.

"I know you can understand me, Fallen, so you know what will happen if you lie to me again. Pain, endless pain." The Captain crept toward the Vandal. "You know who I am, yes? Good. Then you know I am not without mercy. I can make a promise, even to a creature like you, and it shall be kept. Anyone who serves me is well rewarded. You also must know what happens to my enemies."

The Captain lifted the Vandal's head by the chin, looking into its eyes.

"You wish the pain to be over, I know. I can end it, and more, if you only give me what I want. Tell me, or you will wish you could die. Tell me, and the suffering can end."

The Vandal stared back at him, its eyes unmoving. The Captain could see it, that loss of spirit when someone has lost all hope. That sight brought a smile to the Captain's face. He knew from that look that he had already won. He ordered one of his technicians to administer some painkillers to the Vandal's system. It reacted almost immediately and gasped as the pain was deadened after forty hours of torment.

"You see? I provide kindness to those who aid me. Tell me who took it."

The Vandal garbled out its demented tongue. "It came like the desert wind. A Guardian."

The smile on the Captain's lips withered away. He felt his vision turn red. He removed his hand from the Vandal and turned away. His fists were clenched, and rage flooded his veins.

He heard his Technicians go silent around him. He looked to one of the guards, who flinched at his gaze. Only Sheer had the courage to meet his eyes, and he wisely stayed silent.

"We are surrounded by filth." he hissed. "Hive. Vex. Cabal. Awoken. Guardians. We are so close to achieving limitless power. Yet the the maggots," he turned to the Vandal. "the maggots crawl and squirm and slither and bite, distracting us from our goal. Look at me."

The Vandal didn't respond to the Captain's demand.

"Look at me!" Still, the Vandal did not respond.

The Captain turned away to the technician's workplace, shoving him away from the console. He grasped the lever for the electrocution controls and slammed it to the highest voltage. The entire room lit with the fury of a thunderstorm coursing through the Vandal. It's screams couldn't be heard over the howls of lightning. The Captain watched as it shook in pain. He smiled again.

"Captain, wait! If you keep it on max settings he'll-."

The Vandal's head burst. Bits of the helmet were sent flying all over the room like shrapnel. None even scratched the Captain. The now headless body gushed forth with a shining white energy like smoke. The Captain recognized it as the Fallen's spirit, and he relished its fading cry as it drifted and broke apart into nothingness.

"Captain, was that wise?"  
"I got everything I needed Sheer. Voq." The technician stood to attention. "Have the body dismembered and carve that Kell's name into the pieces. I want to drop them on a Fallen outpost here before we leave. I want Vulkas to know he's not safe yet."

"Yes sir."

"Guards, help Voq clean this up, I want the chamber ready for that Guardian when we find him."

"Captain, shouldn't we go after Vulkas instead?" Sheer suggested, following the Captain out of the chamber. He kept pace with the Captains stride passing their numerous soldiers.

"Pointless. Those animals can't keep themselves organized. They wouldn't know one Guardian from another."

The Captain noticed two Guardsmen talking in a corner, away from their posts. He turned the corner and came up to the two. They both stood at attention.

"Good, but not good enough." With a swing of knife, the Captain slit both their throats. They both fell to the floor, twitching as they bled out.

"Mount their heads in the mess hall." The Captain returned to his walk.

"Captain, you should've let me do that. Why did you do it yourself?"

"Because I have to tell the Queens that not only did we fail to acquire the Key, it was also taken from us by a Guardian thief. Question me again and I'll take your head as well."

"Yes, Captain Vor."

* * *

Author's Note

Well damn, I did not expect this fic to get this many views. Thank you to the followers, favorites, and reviews! :)


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